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Familiar French Expression
| Meaning | someone got her period, someone is menstruating | |
| Literally | the English have arrived | |
| Register | familiar | |
| Pronunciation | [lay za(n) gleh so(n) tah ree vay] | |
| IPA | [le zã glɛ sɔ̃ ta ri ve] | |
Usage notes: The familiar and somewhat old-fashioned French expression les Anglais sont arrivés is a reference to the British army, known as the "redcoats." It’s a euphemistic way to refer to a subject often considered taboo: menstruation.
Par exemple…
| Je n’ai pas envie de sortir ce soir, les Anglais sont arrivés. | I don’t feel like going out tonight, I’ve got my period. | |
| Je ne suis pas enceinte, les Anglais viennent d’arriver. | I’m not pregnant, I just got my period. |
Similarly old-fashioned variations
- Les Anglais ont débarqué – literally, “The English have landed”
- Les Anglais sont là – "The English are here"
Regional variations: Some French speakers prefer to make the subject feminine:
- les Anglaises sont arrivées
- les Anglaises ont débarqué
- les Anglaises sont là
Synonymous expressions
- avoir ses règles (j’ai mes règles / elle a ses règles)
- avoir ses affaires
- avoir ses fleurs
- avoir ses menstrues
- avoir ses secours périodiques
- avoir ses trucs
Related lessons
- Arriver conjugations
- Avoir conjugations
- Nationalities
- Passé composé
- Ses – possessive adjective
- Sont vs ont – helping verbs
- Toiletries
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